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Vacation Home Rentals: How to Make Money on Your Vacant Property

Do you have a vacant property? Or perhaps a second home or vacation home that is vacant a portion of the year? Perhaps you recently purchased a second property and are wondering what your next steps should be. The good news is that you can make money on your vacant property. So long as you do your due diligence and know what your options are.

Should I Sell?

If you’ve searched online or spoken to a few knowledgeable friends or professionals, then you might already have a good idea of what your options could be. The first option: selling. You could sell the property, but whether you’ll take a profit or loss is dependent upon a number of variables, many of which are outside of your control. The housing market is volatile and difficult to predict. It can swing from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market on a whim. The vacation home real estate market is especially fickle, as location is such a huge component of the sale. Your market of available buyers is much smaller when you’re trying to move a vacation home compared to a standard home. Also, you have to account for the financial questions. Do you owe anything on the property? Can you make enough money on the property? For many property owners, selling isn’t favorable simply because they can’t recoup what they owe or what they think the property is worth.

Renting Your Vacation Property

Your next option is renting. Many people enjoy the benefits of renting a property, and you can absolutely make money on your vacant property by renting. While many people consider renting to be a six month or one-year contract between a tenant and the owner, there are various ways that renting can be conducted.

For starters, you could rent your vacant property to a tenant for a long-term basis. You’ll want to screen your tenants carefully to ensure that you’re getting a cream-of-the-crop type tenant who will make payments on time and take care of your property. This assumed that you’ll be managing your vacant property for as long as it’s being rented out. If you’re living near the property, managing the property yourself can be feasible, but it will still have pitfalls. For instance, are you prepared to handle those middle-of-the-night emergency repair calls? Are you able to screen tenants? We’ll talk more about management in a moment.

If you’re living out of town, then managing your property yourself can be very difficult. The simple fact that you won’t be able to do home inspections personally makes this challenging.

A property management company can help facilitate getting and maintaining tenants while helping maintain your property. This ensures continuity of service for all involved parties. You can expect to pay a fee each month for these services, but the peace of mind is invaluable.

The biggest problem with renting out to long-term tenants is that there’s a better way to make more money from your vacant property. Yes, you can make a larger sum of money from renting your vacant property on a long-term basis, but renting your property as a vacation home to a series of guests will generate more revenue and allow for more money per night rented.

The reason for the increased revenue opportunity is that offering your property as a vacation home means that clients are going to be paying rates more on-par with hotel rates. These rates will be less, which entices clients in to checking out vacation homes, but the rates will still be more than if you rent out on a long-term basis. If you really want to make money on your vacant property, then you should rent it out as a vacation home, but you should absolutely use a vacation property management company.

A vacation property management company will have the expertise necessary to efficiently book, manage, and lease your property. They’ll ensure that you’ve got a booked schedule, which will mean more money for you. Will they charge a fee? Yes, they will charge a fee, but the services and the money you make will make up for this.

Plus, the fee they charge is tax deductible - as are any charges associated with renting your property. If you want a nice tax break, then renting your vacation property out is an excellent idea!

Partner with Minnestay for Renting Your Vacation Home

Minnestay, offers the best vacation rentals Minnesota has to offer. We’re able to handle all of the advertising on your behalf. We will advertise your property on a variety of trusted online vacation home rental websites, to ensure your property is getting the greatest possible visibility.

By partnering with us, you could have your property booked online. This means zero hassle for you and money in the bank! Imagine if renting out your vacant home could be that easy. Many people try to rent their properties long term or on their own, but they find that they just aren’t able to recoup their money fast enough, and that the process requires much more work out of them then they signed up for. If you are still paying a mortgage on a home, then you want to be able to make as much money as you can on it. Even if you aren’t still paying a mortgage on your vacant property, then you’d probably like to make the most money off of it as possible when you rent it.

To learn more about partnering with Minnestay, contact us today and tell us about your vacation home. We’ll let you know all the advantages we can provide you, and how we can put some money in your pocket.